For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines: Police committee underscores need to strengthen officers' health, wellness; Rand Water in recovery after successful maintenance project; And, Shell, BP to pay operational costs to buyer of South Africa's Sapref refinery

Police committee underscores need to strengthen officers' health, wellness

Portfolio Committee on Police chairperson Ian Cameron highlighted that resilience building and general support care should be a central pillar of the work of the South African Police Service to ensure the mental wellbeing of officers who are expected to fight crime effectively.

The committee expressed shock at the passing of Saps Anti-Gang Unit member Sergeant Raoul Murray, who took his own life last week, pointing out that his suicide highlighted the need for enhanced employee health and wellness initiatives within the Saps.

Cameron said wellness initiatives would assist officers in coping more effectively with the challenges in their operational environment.

He emphasised that in the context of the high crime rate, especially violent crimes, Saps members are faced with gruesome scenes that are bound to have a negative impact on their mental health.

Cameron noted that with high crime statistics, it was a moral requirement that officers were broadly capacitated to effectively deal with crime.

Rand Water in recovery after successful maintenance project

Water utility Rand Water today said that its extensive, proactive infrastructure maintenance project has been successfully completed.

The maintenance project was conducted from June 22 to July 30, and focused on upgrading the organisation’s water supply systems to ensure reliability and efficiency of the infrastructure.

Following the completion of the maintenance project, Rand Water’s systems are still in the process of achieving full recovery and the organisation has informed its municipal customers.

The maintenance programme had impacted two water treatment plants, namely the Zuikerbosch and Vereeniging Water Purification Plants, and four of its booster pumping stations, namely Eikenhof, Zwartkopjes, Mapleton and Palmiet.

Rand Water said in a statement the maintenance of the water infrastructure was critical and necessary to improve the integrity and long-term preservation of the infrastructure.

And, Shell, BP to pay operational costs to buyer of South Africa's Sapref

South African units of Shell and BP will pay around $15-million to State-run Central Energy Fund for operational costs at Sapref refinery that the oil firms are selling to the government, a letter from Minister Gwede Mantashe to the finance ministry showed.

The payments could help kickstart the revival of South Africa's largest refinery as government looks to secure security of petroleum supplies amid declining refining capacity.

The CEF is in the process of seeking National Treasury's approval to buy the flood-damaged refinery, with a nameplate capacity of 180 000 bl/d, from Shell and BP for only R1.

The deal includes fixed assets and transmission pipelines in the east coast petrochemical hub of Durban.

A letter in May from then Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Mantashe, who has since been named Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister, to the finance ministry seeking approval for the deal shows that Shell Downstream SA and bpSA agreed to pay a total amount of R286-million – R260-million plus a 10% contingent of R26-million – for operational costs for the first year, expected to be 2025, after the deal is finalised.

Mantashe stated in the letter that the refinery has a revenue stream of about R34-million a year in its current state.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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